Prerelease content in Strider (NES)
This article lists all known conceptual and prerelease content related to the NES version of Strider. Prerelease content Early screenshots Two screenshots from an early advert for the game, establishing its release date to be October"Strider Hiryu Japanese Magazine Scans". Strider Hiryu magazine ad.. These two screenshots are from an early point in development, although the only notable difference appears to be the missing "H" and "E" next to the health and energy numbers. StrNES_flyer_01.png StrNES_flyer_02.png Two more screenshots published in one 1988 article from Famitsu together with the ones above show Kazakh's initial area had a number of differences in appearance: StrNES_Famitsu88_PR.png StrNES_Famitsu88_PR2.png Kazakh_start.png|Screenshot from the released game * The large metal squares on the ground had a different, simpler circular design instead of four smaller squares with two different designs as in the final. * The boxes found along the path displayed a different design with two crossed wood strips in front. The boxes in the released version have two panel faces with wooden frames instead. * Diagonally-attached cables were added at the top part of the wire fences in the background. * The buildings in the background were rearranged and altered. * Small flashing light posts were added to the background in the released version. * A brown chained cargo hook was added below the top box seen in the first screenshot. Elements from the dumped prototype described below such as the Russian Infantryman's early sprite and the starry sky are also visible in these screenshots, but all different sprites were redrawn into the release game's version by that build. Famicom prototype A prototype of the cancelled Famicom version was dumped in 2014 and released online. This prototype appears to be from late in development, and resembles the English released version very closely. Almost the entire game is included, although the final stages are not fully completed and the ending can't be accessed due to a glitched final boss battle. There are also a number of differences in gameplay and stage layout when compared to the released version, apparently an attempt to lower the difficulty for the English audience. Promotional video A rare promotional video using an early build of the cancelled Famicom version"Strider Hiryu Japanese TV Advert". Retrieved from Archive.org. Accessed February 11 2019.. Whether this build was created before or after the known prototype is uncertain, although it does feature some unique unused elements of its own: }), the same line spoken by the Vice-Commander in the Japanese prototype. |- | align="center" | | For some reason, Hiryu's sprite changes palette when he enters the room with the magnetic wall in Kazakh, and remains this way until he reaches the end of the wall at the top of the room. There's also a square item in front of the wall, and when picked up Hiryu can walk up the wall as if he were using the Magnetic Boots. This mechanical item is nowhere to be found in the prototype or final game, but its sprite still exists inside the code. |- | align="center" | | The square frame in the subscreen appears to be red instead of blue, although this could be due to the video's very low quality. Rather than "Cypher" (as in the prototype) or "TRICK" (as in the released game), the text above Hiryu's list of Tricks reads "Power Trick" ( ). The section showing Keys displays both a 1 and 4 numbers, apparently indicating the player has found the first and fourth key. This is impossible to do in the released game, since the player unlocks keys in order. This was probably because Hiryu has access to the Key #4 room atop the magnetic wall right away, as seen in the previous screen. |} References